Business matchmaking: generating business in hard times

In hard times, companies look harder and harder for deals and partnerships, don't they? What have you been doing to generate more business? To attract more customers, suppliers or partners?

The difficulty of generating business is common to thousands of business owners. Getting access to the people who make decisions at potential client companies, though, can be a little complicated, and you often hear that the main reason is that business owners like talking to business owners, and the big deals are normally done directly between them.

Once the decision has been taken by the owners themselves, whether to buy, to sell or to form a partnership, the internal purchasing flow is triggered and the customer and supplier journey begins.

You may not know it, but a good number of companies and independent professionals have been using business matchmaking events as a way of meeting business owners and generating more business among themselves.

Have you ever taken part in a business matchmaking event?

How much time and money do you think companies spend on advertising and cold calls to win large clients that bring little or no result?

According to the great marketing consultant Philip Kotler, "winning a new customer costs 5 to 7 times more than keeping an existing one". Many companies invest heavily in acquiring new customers, millions in physical facilities and in advertising, and yet they slip up by wanting to sell above all else, ending up forgetting that it is worth far more to build and keep a long-term relationship with the customer.

Although some companies do not believe it is possible to see the real cost of new customers, today it is, using CAC, the customer acquisition cost.

It is simply a matter of dividing the sum of the investments made to win a customer by the number of customers won in a given period. For example: say your company invested R$ 5,000.00 in marketing and sales and won 10 new customers. Your CAC is R$ 500.00.

Business matchmaking: what is the most important point in this format?

The most important point of a business matchmaking event is precisely that it is a meeting of companies from your city, region or line of business that benefit from particular services or products.

There are thousands of examples that could be given, from the accountancy firm or the printer that can promote its services to the business owners of the region, to the nutritionist looking for companies interested in healthy eating for their staff.

Multinational companies normally have a roster of suppliers already, and products can become expensive because of the current logistics, but when they find nearby suppliers who deliver in less time, changing supplier ends up being justifiable, and it is not only the companies that benefit, but the region itself.

In many cases, the negotiation tends to start from a matchmaking event.

What is a business matchmaking event?

A business matchmaking event is run through meetings of up to 7 people at a table, in which the professionals representing the companies exchange cards and present their products or services. There will always be somebody keeping the time so that everyone has the same opportunity to present.

After each meeting, the professionals are directed to the next tables, because that is how the presentation process starts again with new companies.

It is advisable for the organiser to use software specifically for business matchmaking. A tool built for this handles the arrangement of the tables through the event and prevents the same people from meeting again, so that each round yields new conversations and everybody's time is well used.

A business matchmaking event is, then, a meeting of companies with a goal in common: generating business. The business starts through these meetings.

So what is the secret of a successful matchmaking event?

The secret of a successful matchmaking event is above all the movement of people between the tables and the control of each company's time.

Today the average amount per participant at a matchmaking event in São Paulo is between R$ 200.00 and R$ 500.00.

Some types of matchmaking event and their characteristics:

• Mixed matchmaking event:

Different businesses are presented. There may be more than one participant per segment.

• Exclusive matchmaking event:

Each participant represents one segment. There may not be more than one participant per segment.

• Sector matchmaking event:

One or more participants represent a segment within a sector.

Example: the events sector, construction.

• Themed matchmaking event:

Participants present their products and services according to a theme set in advance.

Example: innovation, employability.

• International matchmaking event:

Trade agreements and brand representation between countries. This event generally takes place within a congress or a trade fair.

How long does each event last?

Matchmaking events normally last between 4 and 8 hours, and congresses and trade fairs run matchmaking events with 150 to 300 people, where the average participation fee is around R$ 500.00 per company.

Matchmaking events are generally held in groups of 50 to 100 companies in a range of places, such as:

• Entrepreneurship schools
• Universities
• Churches
• Catering venues
• Restaurants
• Associations
• Unions
• Seminars
• Residential complexes
• And many others

So how much does a ticket cost per company in São Paulo?

Taking São Paulo as the basis, the average ticket price per company is R$ 200.00, and the organiser's revenue depends exclusively on the number of companies taking part.

It is a wonderful thing, isn't it? Being part of a solution that generates results for companies. How do you see yourself promoting meetings between companies to generate business and, as a result, earning from it? All of that result, even without knowing the business of each participating company.

A warm handshake, and I hope to see you helping companies through business matchmaking events and earning very well from it.

PS: this solution can bring visibility to you because it will generate a great deal of income for the business owners of your region.

The Rodada de Sucesso editorial team.

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